Insurance claim for lightning strike

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Ghost02

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Hi guys,
There was a lightning storm and I was away from home and when I finally got home I got home I got home to a DSL router and computer that no longer boots, do you guys have any experience with this? I think its the mother board that poped, there is still a green light that goes on when power is given to it but nothing happens when trying to turn it on, not even fan movement and the Router just makes a buzzing noise when I switch it on. Do you guys think outsurance would take the PC and just repair what they think is broken and give me a new router or do I get to go PC shopping? It's an i5 sandybridge PC so getting an Ivy bridge replacement would be pretty cool.

Thanks
 
I had a notebook get fried by lightning via the Ethernet port.
I put in a claim to Outsurance and they made me send it to Mustek for a repair quote. Mustek would R18k and Outsurance paid it out within a week.

Outsurance are pretty good with this stuff. Claimed twice for tyres too because of pothole damage. No problem there either.
 
Mike Smit said:
I had a notebook get fried by lightning via the Ethernet port.
I put in a claim to Outsurance and they made me send it to Mustek for a repair quote. Mustek would R18k and Outsurance paid it out within a week.

Outsurance are pretty good with this stuff. Claimed twice for tyres too because of pothole damage. No problem there either.
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So they send it to a supplier for a quote and pay me what they say its worth? How far was the 18k off the real replacement cost? Do I get any of the hardware back that was unaffected like the case?
 
Ghost02 said:
So they send it to a supplier for a quote and pay me what they say its worth? How far was the 18k off the real replacement cost? Do I get any of the hardware back that was unaffected like the case?
Click to expand...

Quite a story actually.

The notebook was about 2.5 years old. I paid R12k for it originally. When it got hit you could buy it new for R7k.
I sent it to Mustek myself for repair quote and they came back with just over R7k so I left it as I could just buy a new one and for cheaper.
Then a mate told me insurance would pay so I should try, so I did. Outsurance had me take it back for a quote and I told Mustek it was for an insurance claim. Suddenly the new quote is R18k :eek: Sharks.

Outsurance never even saw the notebook. I sent them Musteks quote and they paid out. I still have the old notebook. Just needs a mobo.
 
So basically I take it to mustek myself for the quote, I get to keep my PC and outsurance pays the quoted price?
 
Ghost02 said:
So basically I take it to mustek myself for the quote, I get to keep my PC and outsurance pays the quoted price?
Click to expand...

Yup. Just let Outsurance know. They will give you a claim number which Mustek will attach to the quote. Mustek will then know it is an insurance claim and tripple what it should actually be (maybe - might have changed now).
You then send the quote to Outsurance and they pay you directly. This may also have changed so don't hold me to it.
 
Well here's hoping I get as lucky as you did, thanks for the help man.
 
Rather than repairing machine I suggest to get quote for a new one. A reason is that after lightning stike other components which survived strike are likely to fail shortly in period 1 to 6 months time. And insurance companies know this fact, they accept full replacement from my experience.
 
Ghost02 said:
Hi guys,
There was a lightning storm and I was away from home and when I finally got home I got home I got home to a DSL router and computer that no longer boots, do you guys have any experience with this? I think its the mother board that poped, there is still a green light that goes on when power is given to it but nothing happens when trying to turn it on, not even fan movement and the Router just makes a buzzing noise when I switch it on. Do you guys think outsurance would take the PC and just repair what they think is broken and give me a new router or do I get to go PC shopping? It's an i5 sandybridge PC so getting an Ivy bridge replacement would be pretty cool.

Thanks
Click to expand...

First, get Outsurance in on the matter and tell them that you think your PC has been struck by lightning. They'll give you the reference number and will also tell you if there's a company they'd prefer you using in your area, or you can specify one that you prefer or would be more convenient to you. Take everything there and explain that its been lightning damaged, you've tried reviving it and nothing works. In most cases the shop will do the damage report to say that the whole thing is kaput and a new one is needed.

They'll then be requested for a quotation, which usually replaces the PC and components with similar or the same internals. Be friendly but firm and ask the shop if they'll recommend Ivy Bridge and/or a new chassis as well. Usually they'll comply, since its more money in their pocket at the end of the day.

One thing to keep in mind is that once you get the go-ahead with the payout and the excess, you can actually get the shop to give you anything you want to the same value, which means you could even go for a laptop or something similar.
 
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